Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, Representative Jodey Arrington (TX-19) joined Representatives Buddy Carter (GA-01), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), and Danny Davis (IL-07) to introduce bipartisan legislation to ensure that individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) continue to have equitable access to private healthcare and to provide protection of the Medicare Trust Fund. A recent Supreme Court ruling has allowed private health plans to prematurely force ESRD patients onto Medicare, creating disruption in coverage for patients and their families and shifting a significant financial burden onto taxpayers. 

“Private health plans should not be encouraged to kick high-cost, medically vulnerable ESRD patients from their private health insurance and onto Medicare. The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act reinforces the fiscally responsible principles of the Medicare Secondary Payer Act and protects ESRD patients from disruptive and discriminatory practices,” said Rep. Arrington. Additionally, this legislation protects taxpayers and the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by keeping private health insurers – not the federal government – as the primary source of coverage when possible and appropriate.”

Background on the Legislation:

• In 1981, Congress amended the Medicare Secondary Payer Act (MSPA) to add language to protect against private health insurers from designing benefit plans to push individuals with ESRD onto Medicare prematurely.

• For decades, health plans have abided by the principles of MSPA, benefitting both beneficiaries and taxpayers. 

• In June 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that health plans can effectively push ESRD patients onto Medicare, prompting a need for Congress to introduce legislation to clarify the Medicare Secondary Payer Act and protect ESRD patients from being kicked off of their private health plans.

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